In 1957 a group of French Scientists led by Dr. Aime Limoge began a research project involving Electroanesthesia which is a means of using electricity to produce an anesthetic effect. They experimented for 5 years trying to eliminate convulsions induced by using enough electricity to produce the anesthetic effect. In 1964 they tried a combination of low frequency rectangular wave currents combined with the high frequencies, and received the desired effect. The Limoge Wave, which is better known as Transcutaneous Cranial Electrical Stimulation (TCES), was discovered.
On Sep. 27, 1971 The Limoge Wave technique was demonstrated at the United States Army Institute of Dental Research at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Conference was hosted by Colonel Robert M. Johnson Chief of Dental Research, and by General Surindar N. Bhaskar. As a result of this conference, Limoge was awarded a contract with the USAMRDC which represented the introduction of the Limoge TCES Wave to the United States.
Since then many research studies have been published supporting TCES and its benefits for not only anesthesia but many other neurological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and drug rehabilitation. Although TCES has had limited use in hospitals in France since 1971, this technology has not be introduced into the United States nor utilized worldwide to its full potential because of technical difficulties such as, patients having a perceived electrical shock due to an underlying DC component in the stimulus output and the medical community not fully understanding or appreciating the potential of this device.
Several individual devices have been constructed for research purposes but no one has been able to successfully replicate the Limoge wave into a device that totally eliminates the DC component, is easily manufactured, and meets the specific requirements needed to treat the several disorders that have been recognized.